Pigeons banned from flying near airport during Olympics

Chinanews, Beijing, July 23 – About 50,000 pigeons will be prohibited from flying around the Capital Airport when the 2008 Olympic Games are held in Beijing, the Beijing Morning Post reported.
The Capital Airport will be the first and last stop for Olympic family members to stay in Beijing during the Olympic Games. In order to guarantee the safety of the airport, the administration team in the Capital Airport recently held a meeting with airport staff members and other persons concerned to discuss how to tackle the possible problems that might be caused by pigeons around the airport.
Pigeons, once running into passenger planes, might sometimes destroy the planes. Since 1990, there were at least 147 air crashes that were caused by birds hitting the planes and 120 aircraft were destroyed during the accidents. In developed countries, about 900-6,000 air crashes occur every year.
The administration team in the Capital Airport recently conducted an investigation about pigeons living near the airport. In the end, they find that there are about 50,000 pigeons raised nearby. The Capital Airport administration team has worked with the Chinese Racing Pigeon Association in an attempt to prevent pigeons from flying around the Capital Airport when the Olympic Games are held.